The President of the Republic will try to push his reforms for the harmonization of social rights in Europe during a social summit which opens this Friday in Portugal.
The stake: to be able to claim the paternity of possible advances in six months, when France will preside over the EU… and will be plunged in full presidential campaign.
Minimum wage, training, gender equality, working conditions… So many subjects that will be discussed Friday and Saturday in Porto, during a European social summit, aimed at trying to harmonize the social rights of the countries of the Old Continent.
If some leaders, like Angela Merkel, will not make the trip because of Covid-19, Emmanuel Macron will be present to push for the reforms he hopes to claim later.
>> Find the morning show of the day in replay and podcast here
Minimum wage in Europe under study
Because in a little over six months, France will chair the European Union.
We will then be in the midst of the presidential campaign and the Head of State fully intends to capitalize on the social advances he is pushing in Europe.
Concretely, France, rather ahead of social rights, intends to export some of its practices.
From his speech at the Sorbonne in September 2017, Emmanuel Macron, for example, called for the creation of a minimum wage in Europe.
The subject will be studied during the Portuguese summit.
Europe to "remobilize" LREM voters
Paris is also pushing for better social dialogue for internet platform workers.
A text is being studied and "France hopes for an agreement during its presidency," confirms an adviser at the Elysee.
One question remains: can Europe really be thought of as an electoral argument for the 2022 presidential election?
The task does not look easy, faced with Eurosceptic candidates in France. But as a Macronist minister confided on Thursday, "talking about Europe will at least have a positive effect on the Walkers: it will make it possible to re-engage our voters".